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Fender JP 90 club?
- Thread starter Geroi Asfalta
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Found this at Guitar Center Used online. Guessing a 1993 model; S/N N-0145xx. Had to clean the scratchy pots and resolder the replacement pickup switch. The Badass bridge was bleeding green from previous owner's acid hands(?); I'll try to clean it up or paint it black when I change strings. Otherwise, pretty clean.
Most likely?
I forget. I don't remember having to do anything special when I put on a BadAss, which leads me to think it's the same as most other Fenders: just jammed in there.
Checking back in to see my JP-90 brothers and sisters!
I've been real happy playing mine since doing the minor upgrades 8 months ago at the start of the 'rona lockdown. Upgraded pickups to Fender Yosemite JP set, filled the original pickup screw holes and fixed the factory screwed up placement, put on a WD products thicker pickguard, upgraded to the Bourns 95 series sealed pots and the "grease bucket" tone circuit, lined the routing with copper shielding tape from WD.
I still have the black BadAss bridge I put on it when I bought the bass new back in the 1990's.
It never had a case all these years. But I scored a new Fender American Jazz hard case on fleabay.
Super happy and I play it a good bit. Wish there was opportunity to go jam somewhere.
Still the most comfortable stage bass I've ever owned.
I've been real happy playing mine since doing the minor upgrades 8 months ago at the start of the 'rona lockdown. Upgraded pickups to Fender Yosemite JP set, filled the original pickup screw holes and fixed the factory screwed up placement, put on a WD products thicker pickguard, upgraded to the Bourns 95 series sealed pots and the "grease bucket" tone circuit, lined the routing with copper shielding tape from WD.
I still have the black BadAss bridge I put on it when I bought the bass new back in the 1990's.
It never had a case all these years. But I scored a new Fender American Jazz hard case on fleabay.
Super happy and I play it a good bit. Wish there was opportunity to go jam somewhere.
Still the most comfortable stage bass I've ever owned.
I recently had mine off and can say, nothing special. There's just a wire that pokes out from a hole. Fold it over and slip it under the bridge when installed.
Has anyone installed a Hipshot Kickass bridge on their JP-90? It has a large footprint, and based on measurements it seems like the E-string corner might sit very close to the edge of the bass. If you have installed one, can you provide a pic looking down on it from directly above? Thx.
Obviously this is a Badass and not a Kickass, but I think they're identical or close. Either way, you can look it up and figure it out.
The E corner is about an eighth of an inch from the edge. The pic isn't QUITE perpendicular, but it's close. If I'd gone directly above, the glare would have blinded you!
There's a mechanical drawing of the hipshot:
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But I haven't found one of the BA-II bridge. I have a BA-2 that I installed when the bass was new back in the 1990s. Like Picton's picture, it is real close to the edge.
I think it is kind of iffy on the hipshot. You could measure based on the mechanical drawing.
I like the badass bridge, but I did pull the original bridge out and try it when I did the rebuild months ago. It works fine too. My BA-II is black and I like the way it looks on the black bass.
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But I haven't found one of the BA-II bridge. I have a BA-2 that I installed when the bass was new back in the 1990s. Like Picton's picture, it is real close to the edge.
I think it is kind of iffy on the hipshot. You could measure based on the mechanical drawing.
I like the badass bridge, but I did pull the original bridge out and try it when I did the rebuild months ago. It works fine too. My BA-II is black and I like the way it looks on the black bass.
Thanks. I have a BA-II on there now, and it is close. I saw the diagram of the KA on the Hipshot site, and the 1.065" from the mounting holes to the rear puts the rear corner right at the edge of the bass; that's why I'm asking to see a pic of the KA. I was looking at other bridges, but I can't really go any smaller than the BA because the finish under it is in less than stellar condition.
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Before bridge cleanup, full setup
After bridge cleanup, setup with TI Jazz Flats, new pickguard
Bridge is still pitted but much better than before. Did you know that you can polish chrome with alumin(i)um foil and water?
After bridge cleanup, setup with TI Jazz Flats, new pickguard
Bridge is still pitted but much better than before. Did you know that you can polish chrome with alumin(i)um foil and water?
A few more improvements: new Omega Bass bridge (new version of the Badass II) with better saddles, Dunlop strap locks, and a homemade thumb rest made from, yes, LEGOs, similar to what I did on my Höfner.
Anyone compare the JP90 neck to the Fender USA Geddy Lee Jazz Bass? I'm told the USA Geddy Lee is 9.5" radius, and "thicker C". But no numbers as to what that might mean. Can't lay hands upon one to see if I like it or not.
My late production JP-90 is 1.5" wide at the nut, and 0.83" thick, 7.25 radius (or slightly smaller if my gauges are to be believed). My perception of the JP-90 is that it is among the thinnest of J-bass necks.
I sold my G&L ASAT Bass about a year ago now. I did like the neck on it, with the 9.5" radius and slightly bigger dimensions. The incredibly light ash body and telecaster body made it very neck-dive prone, or I would have kept it. Great pop and sound, but the ergonomics of the weight balance never worked for me in the decades I owned it.
My late production JP-90 is 1.5" wide at the nut, and 0.83" thick, 7.25 radius (or slightly smaller if my gauges are to be believed). My perception of the JP-90 is that it is among the thinnest of J-bass necks.
I sold my G&L ASAT Bass about a year ago now. I did like the neck on it, with the 9.5" radius and slightly bigger dimensions. The incredibly light ash body and telecaster body made it very neck-dive prone, or I would have kept it. Great pop and sound, but the ergonomics of the weight balance never worked for me in the decades I owned it.
I just replaced the neck pickup on my JP-90 with a Fender Pure Vintage '63 Precision Bass pickup. (The wire on old pickup broke off at the base; someone had been inside before I bought the bass, and the wire must have been barely hanging on. I'm amazed at how thin the original wires are.) The new pickup is nice and loud, as is the original Jazz pickup. (Surprisingly for the same volume, the neck pickup is closer to the strings than the bridge pickup.) However, with both pickups selected the sound is weak and thin, unlike before the swap.
We wired the white lead to the switch as before and as specified in the instructions that came with the pickup. Both white wires are at the switch, and both black wires are grounded. Could it be that the the pickups are now out of phase? Any other ideas?
I will take it back in on Monday to experiment with with reversing the wires, but first I wanted to appeal to the group mind.
We wired the white lead to the switch as before and as specified in the instructions that came with the pickup. Both white wires are at the switch, and both black wires are grounded. Could it be that the the pickups are now out of phase? Any other ideas?
I will take it back in on Monday to experiment with with reversing the wires, but first I wanted to appeal to the group mind.
I've never touched a Geddy, but I spent a couple years with a MIJ 75RI and now I play a genuine 1975 Jazz. I found those two necks very close in specs. My understanding is that the USA Geddy is a faithful mid-70s copy.
By contrast, my old '78 Jazz was somewhat beefier.
My JP90 (an early one) is night-and-day different from those. It feels far, far narrower (despite a nut width that's nearly identical). I haven't got any numbers either, but of the four basses I routinely play ('75 Jazz, '54-spec Precision (1.6" nut), Rick 4001, and my JP90), the JP is by far the fastest neck I've got.
Yeah, in reading up on the Geddy Lee signatures, the made in Japan and Made in Mexico models have the thin-C shaped neck, reflective of the instrument when Lee acquired it. It was a '72, but the neck was sanded down already to a thinner profile.
The USA Geddy lee signature has a different neck, based on the replacement neck the Fender Custom shop made to replace the original on Lee's 72. This is described as the "thick-C".
Long ago, I played the Japan version, and I seem to remember it being most like the JP-90's thin and fast neck. But that was a long time ago, I didn't have any money at the time, so JP-90 stayed with me and the Japan Geddy stayed at the store.
I sort of think I might like the USA version with a little more beef to it, and the slightly flatter radius. I sometimes GAS for a straight up J-bass from time to time.
Still enjoying the JP-90 after the upgrades I did last spring.
Yeah, that's a thing sometimes. The polarity of the replacement pickups are not always the same. When replacing a two-pickup set, I try to buy them as a set from the manufacturer. I swapped my JP90's with a set of Fender-Yosemite JP pickups. The price was right and they sound good. The "both" setting (neck and bridge) has a great "scooped" sound with lots of bottom, mids kind of thinned out and the highs more prominent.
I ran into the polarity problem some years ago on a custom-built Telecaster guitar. The custom builder and I wanted to mix brands of bridge and neck pickups. Ordinarily, they're RWRP (reverse wind/reverse polarity) of each other, so the signal is in phase, but they cancel hum when used together. But it turns out that Seymour Duncan telecaster bridge and Fender neck pickups have opposite polarities. Wound up getting one custom wound.
Moral of the story, buy paired pickups in the manufacturer's set, rather than mix and match.
Swapped leads on the J pickup; all is well.
